Daily history

Good morning,


Quote of the day:

“Thank God they have stopped allowing that shit to spew into the Gulf.”

                                     Al Campbell

I read about the woman that is supposed to the largest breasts in the world. She is a Brazilian living in Texas. A couple of weeks ago she went into the hospital to have yet another breast implant and contracted a staph infection and is fighting for her life. If that staph infection gets into her bloodstream she is a goner. Her official breast size is 38KKK.

I have a friend that had triple heart by-pass surgery and he got a staph infection. He was in ICU for weeks also fighting for his life. I think I will need a left hip replacement sooner or later but I keep putting it off for fear of getting a staph infection. That is something I don’t need so I just keep taking Advil and bearing it. It you wanted to find germs, bacteria, viruses, infection, etc. where would you look? It would be a hospital, y’all.

I read about newscasters, especially females in Washington, which are openly hostile toward Sarah Palin primarily because of her beauty and political moxie. One female newsperson even criticized Palin for having a Garfield calendar on her desk. I don’t get it, y’all. What’s up with the petty jealousies and catty remarks? I personally don’t give a damn about a newsperson’s personal likes and dislikes, all I want is accurate and unbiased information. We are not getting it and probably never have. They can say what they want but Sarah and the Tea Party movement is a force to be reckoned with. During the most recent South Carolina Republican primaries for Governor, Nikki Haley, a female had Mitt Romney come down and endorse her. There was very little change in the polls. Then Nikki had Sarah come down and endorse her and Nikki jumped in the polls by double digits. She ended up as the Republican nominee for Governor which almost guarantees her the job in this GOP leaning state. Speaking of Nikki, during her campaign she was running against a United States Congressman and criticized him for lack of transparency in the US Legislature. Just a few days ago Nikki held a CLOSED DOOR meeting with members of the South Carolina Chambers of Commerce. I guess it is true that some women believe that “what is good for me is not necessarily good for you.”

Some of you may not know about Alvin Greene here in South Carolina. In the recent primaries Alvin was chosen to challenge South Carolina Republican Senator Jim DeMint in the November elections. Alvin is unemployed and recently discharged from the military and living with his father in Manning, SC. Somehow Alvin was able to cough up the $10,600 fee required to be listed in the primary ballots. He was asked what would be his solution for unemployment in South Carolina (about 9%) and Alvin stunned us with his acumen and political insight. He said that “they” should start making action figures (dolls) of him. He said further that they could be images of him in his uniform, in his suit, in his camos, etc. How brilliant is this guy? South Carolina politics is the laughing stock of America and it is no wonder. But in retrospect, in these difficult times a laugh now and then would be beneficial. By the way, Alvin has as much a chance of defeating Jim DeMint as I do in becoming an astronaut.

This date in history July 19

1799 Earlier French emperor and conqueror Napoleon Bonaparte had decided to put the entire eastern hemisphere of the world under his rule and began working his way eastward down the Mediterranean. He and his army eventually ended up in the ancient land of Egypt. Napoleon had always stressed to his commanders that all arts and cultures should be saved. On this date one of his soldiers discovered an irregular black basalt stone with strange inscriptions near the city of Rosetta. He brought the stone back to his commander and it eventually ended up in the British Museum (been there) and has been there since 1802. Many linguists examined it and they determined that the inscriptions were about a former Pharaoh, Ptolemy V. The difference here was the inscriptions were describing the same events but in three different languages, Greek, modern Egyptian hieroglyphics and ancient hieroglyphics. From this stone the world was able to crack the meaning of the hieroglyphics that had escaped understanding for centuries. It was a great moment in history.

1848 It was on this date that the long journey to women’s rights began. An advertised meeting “for women only” was held in the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York. The leaders of this “convention” were Lucretia Mott and Sarah Cady among several others. They were there to discuss slavery and as a side note, they discussed the right of women to vote. Women had been denied the right to vote since the founding of this great nation. The convention came up with a list of grievances and a plan of further meetings, marches of protest, etc. As you might suspect, they were severely ridiculed and support that they had previously received was withdrawn. But they did not let up and 72 years later the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was passed and American women gained the right to vote. The story of how United States President Woodrow Wilson fought against the leader of women’s suffrage, Alice Paul, during his tenure is worthy of an essay of it own. It will follow later.

1863 Earlier one of the greatest cavalry officers this country has ever produced, CSA General John Hunt Morgan, began a raid in the state of Ohio. He feinted toward Cincinnati and then moved westward. After several weeks of raids against Union supply depots he headed for home in Kentucky. He had planned to cross the Ohio River near Bluffington, Ohio but there had been several days of torrential rain, the Ohio River could not be crossed at Bluffington and all the other fords were being guarded by Union cavalry. There was a brief skirmish at Bluffington between Morgan and a Union cavalry unit which resulted in the capture of nearly half of Morgan’s cavalrymen. Morgan knew he could not go any further south so he turned around and headed back into the interior of Ohio. After a week of running and hiding, Morgan and the rest of his troops was cornered and captured. He was incarcerated at a prison camp near Columbus, Ohio. Within two weeks he had escaped and made his way back to Kentucky and raised another cavalry unit.

1879 Earlier a dentist from Valdosta, Georgia had learned that he had contracted tuberculosis and was persuaded by his doctors to seek a drier climate. Doc Holliday decided on opening a saloon in Las Vegas, New Mexico. The dry climate is helpful but Doc knows his days are numbered and chooses to drink and gamble heavily. As with most saloons in the American west, there were dancing girl/prostitutes on duty most of the time. Unfortunately, an ex-army scout named Mike Gordon fell for one of Doc’s dancing girls and tried to persuade her to quit her job and run away with him. She refused which infuriated Mike. He went out into the street and starts shooting up Doc’s bar. After the second shot Doc calmly walked out onto the sidewalk and drops poor Mike with one shot to the chest and he died the next morning. This was the first, but by no means the last person killed by Doc Holliday. He abandoned the bar business and moved to Tombstone, Arizona and met up with his friend Wyatt Earp where he joined in the killing and beating of criminals in Tombstone including the infamous “Gunfight at the OK Corral”. Finally, the hard living, hard drinking and tuberculosis caught up with Doc and he went to a sanitarium in Colorado to die. On his deathbed he looked around at the all the peace and quiet and remembering his violent life he said “This is funny.”

Born today:

1865 Famous US Physician Charles Mayo. He said “A specialist is someone who learns more and more about less and less.” I think I know this person.

1921 US Physicist Rosalyn Yalow. She said “The excitement of learning separates youth from old age. As long as you are learning you are not old.” OK Rosie, I am learning as fast as I can.

Died today:

1850 US writer Margaret Fuller. She said “I have now met all the people worth knowing in America and I can find no intellect comparable to mine.” Shut up, Maggie.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow